Power and transmission unit



Feb. 9, 1943.

H. N. BURNS 2,310,513

POWER AND TRANSMISSION UNIT Filed May 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l gmc/who@ Feb. 9, 1943. H, N BURNS l 2,310,513

POWER AND TRANSMISSION UNIT Filed May 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lengthed, to.

` `vide a power axidgtransmission unit whereiuth motor is v`:onne' ':i:cdu .with the driving;

Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED STATE s f PAT ENT oFFIci-z,

Powsn AND TRANSMISSION UNIT Henry N. Burns., Doesburg.' Ohio Application Mey zz, 1941, Sen-iin- No. 394,716 r s claims. (ci. iso-s2) `This"invention relates to power transmission systems and more particularly to an improved power andjtransmission unit.

one object ef the invention is te piro-vide a; power and transmission. Iuiit'which is particularly adapted for use with-automobiles, but whichv may be used with any vehicle,- for effectively transmitting power to thedriving wheels or treads oi' the vehicle.

@other object of-the'finvention is to provide a power. unit'of this character which is mounted of Lthe rear' of the vehicle with-the" transversely wheelbase of said .vehiclemay be inl ase' riding comfort, andthe drivers seat-may i,

a powerandtransmission unit which will include drive assemblies but which'. willeliminate the A ,ritjes-t er the invention iste prende a power and..tansmission unit by'the useful.'

which itfyillbe possible te eliminate the clutch and torque tube ordinarily.employed.v

r f A ni'r'the'r object ofthe invention is to provide and transmission unit-employingftwo gearing and other A sun' further object or the inventions repre bei@ through theiiuidfdrive assemblies with; that greater-'emciency and economy will curedf'ro'xn operation with the result that a greater factor. of during operation ly mentioned hereinbefore, will moved-to fthe' forwardend we f tneyehicletemcrease A further object-of .the inventionis provide.

of the vehicle, will belxiifesi'nt. Further objects of the invention, notspeciflcalbecomeapparent" during the course of the following description.A .I

be used with trucks, tractors,

In the drawings like parts throughoutfthe views.- is shown as it would' appear inf stalled on the rear ofthe automobile;

Figure 3 isa top plan view of the invention.

numerals of reference will be seen My .invention it should be understood that'th'e invention may f hicle 4requiring' wheels or-'treads as a means of .general the chassis 'or traine The chassis or frame I includes 'side members 2 4and 3 and longitudinally spaced cross members l54 l vis acradle 6, said vcradle comprising spaced beams-1 and 8 whichhave their corresupplyingmotion. The numeral VvI indicates in of an automobiie.

I and 5. Extending between the cross members land 5 and medially of the width of the frame .laterally spondingforward. endsl connected to .the` cross automatic-transmission assemblies and-fluidl 20. ordinarilyused drive shaft `and dinerential merh-y mism/- ,l

*mounted above the cradle 5 andextendstrans- '45.1 'The upper tank of the radiator is connected -to by ,a

In the drawings forming =a part of my iippll'-V cation:

Figure 1 is a side view-of my improved power and transmission unit. said view being partially broken away and shown in section to disclose one of the :Iiuiddrive-assemblies and of a portion of the gearing,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

members 4, and their corresponding rear members offset upwardly, as

connected to the crossrmemb'er 5.

My improved'power and transmission unitis I versely of theframe IV between the cross. mem- -bers 4 and 5." power andtransmission unit' is indicatedgenerallybyv the IlllIIlerflI-,HL Said.-

unit includereinem n wnieh :serine v type.; 'o rfof. the straight line type.k ,Itj-has been found that, when/the-rnotcrisito lc'ylinders, the' V typemotor usedg-a's this,` ype: qf. .motor-requires'considerably' less space'v its-mountingthan domotors vhaving a large ber-ofcylinders mounted. in tandem.. The

tselr is largely of4 conventional conted-above the motor and is providedv '1f c.of led'v type and is cooled by vliquid from "a 'diatorjlllwhich' is mounted transversely ofthe adi'e '5 andis supported on the lbeams 'I and B 'thereoi near theirv corresponding rear ends.

one of the cylinder .blocks of the motor Il flexible hose I9 'and with the other of the blocks of said motor by a exible hose 20. The lower tank of the radiator willbe` connectedwth the blocks in a conventional mannerby a pipe 24B.`

Mounted on the rearmost blocko'f the motorv I II is a `supporting' bracket 2|, at the upper end of which-is formed a bearing 22 which journals a fan Shaft 23. 'Ihe fan shaft 23 carries a coolit Ilz/,310,513-

above I rieiiv describes, like' t@ desee However,

or with any veshown at. 9 in Figure 2, and

havemore than four andiIas a'carburetor I 2. having an air A lgenerator I4, .of conventional de-i v'having a drivepulley I 6 therehaft I1, the purpose for which more. detail hereinafter, is connected? with th'e'shaft- I5.v The motor is of theA ing fan 24 which is disposed in close spaced relation to the rear surface of the radiator I3. 'I'he shaft 23 of the fan 24 is operatively connected with the generator shaft I5 by the flexible shaft |1 so that rotation of the generator shaft will impart rotative movement to the fan for cooling the liquid in the radiator and thus cooling the motor. i

The motor is provided with a pair of uid drive assemblies 25 and 26, the assembly 25 being located at one end of the motor and the assembly 26 being disposed at the opposite end thereof. The units are substantially identical so that a description of one will suffice for both.

The fluid drive assembly 25 includes a casing 21 which is substantially circular in contour vand which includes an inner wall 23 which is con--l nected with the end of the motor |I. The assembly 25 also includes an outer wall 23 which is connected integrally with the casing Vof the Y associated transmission assembly, to be described hereinafter. Mounted within the casing 25 and operatively connected with the motor II is a drive rotor 33, and associated with the drive rotor is a driven rotor 3| which is connected to the drive shaft oi!- the transmission unit to be described hereinafter.A The casing 21` also in' cludes a fly wheel 32 which is formed with gear teeth 33. The fly wheel 32 is connected with' the-driving rotor 33 and the gear teeth 3,3 mesh with theteeth ofV a pinion 34` which is mounted on a vshaft 35 in an extension 36 of the casing 21. `The shaft 35 carries, exteriorly of the extension 3,6, a pulley 31 which is operatively ccnnected with the pulley |6 of the generator I4 by `a belt-33. It will thus be seen that rotation of the y wheel will cause rotation of the gear 34 andthe pulley 31, which rotative movement will be imparted to the shaft `I5 through the pulley I6, for causing the generator and the fan to operate for their respective purposes.

Integrally connected with the outer walls 23 `of the assemblies 25 and 26 are automatic trans` mission assemblies 33 and 43. The assemblies 33 and 43 are of identical construction so that it will'not be necessary to describe both in detail. The assembly 33 includes a housing 4| which is formed of heavy cast metal and which is reduced in diameter toward its outer end. The housing 4| is closed at its top by a tcp wall 42 through,

which extends a control shaft 43, shown in dotted lines. The housing 4| carries the backing plate of a brake drum 44 and said drum is` connected with one of the driving wheels which isshown generally at 45. 'Ihe automatic transmission mechanism is contained within the housing 4| and is operatively connected with the driyen rotor`3| of the assembly25l., This mechanism is of well-known construction so that it is not deemed necessary to describe it in detail. Sufilce it to say that said mechanism includes fluid drive elements, a. reverse gear and one or more forward speed gears. .By way` of further explanation, it may be stated.` that the automatic transmission mechanism is similar to that known as the Hydra-matic transmission.

The unit I3 is connected with'the sidemembers 2 and 3 by springs 46 which have their center portions connected to the assemblies 33 and 43 by means of clips 41. The opposite ends of each of the springs 46 are connected with shackles 43. and 43 on the frame'or chassis I.'

It willnow be seen that the resilient connection is provided for connecting the power and trans- `i5 matic transmission through the fluid drive as- ,t

semblies 25 and 26. yMore specifically, rotation of the drive rotors 33 of the assemblies 25 and 26 will cause rotation of the driven rotors 3|r f of said assemblies for-causing rotation of rthe drive shafts of the transmission assemblies 33 and 40.

The assemblies 33 and 43 are controlled simul` taneously by means of lever and link structure including levers 53 and 5I which are operatively connected to each other by means offa link 52. The link 52 is laterally shifted, for controlling .the transmission assemblies, by means of a crank ,53 which' is pivotally mounted on the cross member 4 by means of a pivot bolt 54. The crank 53 includes an arm 55 to which' is connected a control rod 56 which extends forwardly of the vehicle to a point for manual engagement within the drivers compartment. M y f When the vehicle is in motion, the fluid drive assemblies 25 and 26 will allow slippage when the vehicle is turning acorner so that the usual differential mechanism will not be' needed. `'Ii'h'e transmissions are automatic in operation, except when it is desired to reverse the direction of motion of the vehicle, at which time the rod 55 is shifted for changing the position of the lever and link mechanism;

l Attention is directed to the factthat, inasmuch as the automatic transmission assemblies and the fluid drive assemblies are employed, there will be `no need for vthe conventional clutch and drive shaft assemblies. Moreover. in view of the fact that the unit is mountedtransversely of the rear of the vehicle, frames may be made without regard to drive shaft lengths. Also, the frames may be made lower so that the center of gravity will be lower. and thus the factor of'safety increased.

for assuring increased visibility, and thus increased safety. i

Having thus described the invention, what is vclaimed as new is: Y

l. A power anddaransmission unit including, in i combination with a vehicle having a frame, a motor mounted above the frame, a transmission assembly carried at each end of the motor, one of said transmission assemblies including a casing having an extension, drive and driven rotors within the casing, a fly wheel connected with the drive rotor and having teeth, a gear within the extension and meshing with the teeth of the ily wheel, a shaft for said gear, a pulley on the shaft, a generator on the motor and having a shaft provided with a pulley, a belt operatively connecting the pulleys, a bracket carried by the motor -and having a bearing, a fan having a shaft rotatable in the bearing, a' radiator mounted on the frame rearwardly of the f an and in close spaced relation thereto, a flexible shaft connectingthe generator shaft with' the. fan shaft, a transmission assembly connected with each of the uid drive assemblies,

wheels connected with the transmission asseml blies, means resilientlyconnecting the power and,

twnsn'lissio'n unit with the frame, said mud drive 1 and transmission assemblies transmittingv rotative movementl from the motor to the wheels and said iiexible shaft transmitting rotative movel casing; a gear inthe extension and'meshing with vteeihon-` the nsf-wheel. Said gear havinsa shaft.

a'pulley on th'ejshaft, a generator on the motor.

and having ashatt andy afpulley, means yoperativelynco'nnecting the pulleys, a ian mounted on the motor in spaced relationto the radiator. and means joperatively connecting thedan with the r generator shaft, said fan being rotatable for cooling liquid in the radiator upon rotation of the generator shaft.

3. A power and transinission unit as recited in claim 2, wherein said lastmentioned means comprises a exible cable. t,

HENRY N. BURNS.

andthe'casing ofone lotjsaid fluid drive assemblies havingan extension, 'a fly wheeljin the 

